• Scientific name: Manduca sexta

• Common name: Tobacco

hornworm
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Sphingidae
• Genus: Manduca
• Species: sexta

Commonly called
a Sphinx moth

A lot of moths
fall into this category

Family: Sphingidae

Linnaeus first named it in 1763

One of the 2000 plus insects he first named

It was collected by his army of

collectors in North and Central America

The species has had 7 different names since that time

Manduca means a caricature of a glutton in Latin

sexta refers to the six yellow spots that

are found on the adult abdomen.

Sexta is six in Latin.

 Six yellow spots on abdomen

Life Cycle is Composed of Different Stages

Belongs to the:
Endopterygota
or
Holometabolous
insects
Eggs laid by
a number of
females
09/10

Manduca
eggs

Surface of Egg
First instar

Manduca Diet
• Wheat germ
• Casein
• Sorbic acid (preservative)
• Methyl paraben (preservative)
• Agar (for solidification)
• Minerals and salts
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin B
• Inositol
• Dextrose
• Water

Natural Plant Diet of Manduca

• Tobacco
• Tomato
• Potato
• Pepper
• Egg plant
• Nightshade
 Larval
growth
through
molting

Molting Process in Head Region

 Fourth instar

New head capsule

Old head capsule

You are what you eat

Plant-fed Diet fed
 From the egg to a fully grown larva takes
About 17 – 20 days.

It starts as a 1.4 mg egg and finishes as a

8-10 gram insect.

6500 fold increase in weight

If this were a human increase, the fully grown

teenager would be 38,571 pounds or 19 tons

Boy or Girl?
Male Female
Pupa and pupal
cell composed
of soil

Pupa displaying fully tanned exoskeleton

 Old larval skeleton cast off at pupation

Short Day Length Long Day Length

<12 hours of light >12 hours of light

Diapause Non-diapause
approx.180 days 22-35 days as a pupa
as a pupa
Adult moth
< 2 weeks

Adult Manduca sexta

 Adult Manduca sexta on bark

Owner Manual

Fourth instar – Ready to transfer to larger cup

 Days
1
Fifth instars
Feeding
2

When your insect looks like this---

Food mushed
Heart showing
Agitation – walking, chewing on side of cup
 Day
6
Fifth instar
Non-feeding

Insect cannot
8 bury itself

10

10.5

2 liter soda bottle

Clear if possible

Potting soil preferable

not to wet or too dry
Commercial soil may have
pesticides

No need for food

Wait and observe

If your insect looks like this---

Can’t walk
Blue-green color almost gone